e woman, but this was discouraged and in practice prohibited. A master could not marry his own slave woman unless he first freed her. The rules governing marriage in Rome were similar. There were laws that stated that the sons of senators were not to marry freedwomen. However, it was legal for the women to be taken on as a concubine. In fact, it was more respectable for the senator’s son to have this woman as a concubine than for the woman to be taken as a wife. There were provisions made for the freedwoman. She could leave her patron and marry, but only with his consent. Islamic law provided a number of ways in which a slave could be set free. One was manumission, accomplished by a formal declaration on the part of the master and recorded in a certificate. This certificate was given to the liberated slave. The manumission of a slave included the offspring of that slave. If there was any uncertainty about an act of manumission, the slave has the benefit of the doubt. Another method is a written agreement by which the master grants liberty in return for a fixed sum. Once such an agreement had been reached, the master no longer held charge over the slave. The slave was still subject to certain legal disabilities, but was “virtually free.” Agreements such as these could be terminated by the slave but not by the master. Children born to the slave after the contract are born free. A master could also bind himself to liberate a slave at some specified future time. He may also bind his heirs to liberate a slave after his death. In addition to manumission based on the will of the master, there were various legal causes which may lead to liberation. The most common was a legal judgment by a qadi ordering a master to emancipate a slave whom he had mistreated. There was also the case of the umm walad, a slave woman who bears a son to her master. This woman could not be sold and upon her master’s death was freed. In Greco-Ro...
